More than 15,000 police have been drafted in to shield leaders of the world’s richest nations from protestors at the G8 summit in Italy.

The area in and around the city of L’Aquila is under virtual lockdown. The police have set up numerous roadblocks as the authorities hope to avoid the violence that marred a previous summit in Genoa in 2001.

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On that occasion a protestor was killed and dozens of others were beaten by riot police. This time round there have already been clashes.

A demonstration in Rome by students campaigning against global poverty was swiftly broken up. A number of arrests were also made.